In the summer, the adult birds have a pale grey back and wings, which have
black wing tips and white spots. The head, neck and breast are white. The legs are pink and the bill is yellow with a red spot
near the tip. The eye is yellow with an orange orbital ring.

In the winter, the bill is duller, and the head and neck are streaked with grey.

The plumage varies greatly according to the bird's age and the season. Juveniles are mottled brown with a dark bar at the tip of the tail. Immature birds become progressively greyer above and white below until they reach adult
plumage in their 3rd winter.

Head

Juvenile

Scientific Name

Larus argentatus

Length

55-67 cm (22-27")

Wing Span

130-158 cm (52-63")

Weight

750-1250 g (1½-2¾ lb)

Breeding Pairs

200000

Present

All Year

Status

Red

Voice

The yelping "kyow" and laughing calls, like "gah-gah-gah", of the Herring Gull are very
familiar ones at the seaside.

Feeding

Herring Gulls are opportunists and will eat most things: fish, crabs,
insects, eggs, young birds, small mammals and garbage.

Nesting

They usually nest in colonies on ledges of sea cliffs or in dunes, but also
on building roofs.

The nest is built by both birds from grasses and seaweed.

The smooth, non-glossy pale green eggs have brown blotches on them, and are
about 52 mm by 37 mm in size. Both birds share the duty of incubating the
eggs and feeding the precocial nestlings.

Breeding Starts

Clutches

Eggs

Incubation (days)

Fledge (days)

April

1

2-3

25-33

c.42

Movements

British birds are resident and mostly sedentary so that after nesting the
adults and juveniles disperse only short distances to favoured feeding
grounds, often farmland away from the coasts. Some do migrate to southern
Europe and the Mediterranean for the winter, where they are joined by other
Continental birds that have migrated southwards. Similarly, the British
population may increase three- or fourfold when Icelandic and Scandinavian
birds stay for the winter.

Conservation

Unbelievably, this once common gull of the seaside is now a red list species
of conservation concern owing to its population declining by more half in
the last 25 years.